Dagupan holds first Elderly Summit

THE City Social Welfare
and Development Office (CSWDO) and the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs
(OSCA), sponsored the first elderly summit at CSI Stadia on February 21.

More than 500 members of
the Barangay Senior Citizens Associations (BASCA) attended the summit which
included various lectures on laws and health concerning senior citizens.

CSWDO chief Leah Aquino shared the city’s programs and services for the elderly while City Health Officer Dr. Ophelia Rivera discussed the common health issues of the elderly as well as shared tips on how to remain healthy.

Officers of the Philippines (FSCAP)
Dagupan Chapter 2019 to 2021 headed by Roberto Pasaron (2nd from right) take
their oaths of the first elderly summit at CSI Stadia on February 21 (CIO photo
by Jojo Tamayo)

Meanwhile, Edwina C.
Masi, the focal person on senior citizens of the Department of Social Welfare
and Development (DSWD) Regional Office I, bared the latest updates on the
guidelines for social pension and several other laws on senior citizens such as
the Expanded Senior Citizen’s Act of 2010 and the Centenarian Act of 2016.

An open forum was also
held during the summit that addressed queries or concerns of the elderly.

At the same time, Mayor
Belen Fernandez swore in the new set of officers in the Federation of Senior
Citizen Association of the Philippines (FSCAP) Dagupan Chapter 2019 to 2021
headed by Roberto Pasaron.

The mayor, in her
message, underscored the importance of maintaining the good health of the
elderly.

She shared the city’s
plans to provide more medicines for senior citizens, as well as to purchase a
mobile clinic which will cater to suffering or incapacitated senior citizens in
remote areas and barangays.

Fernandez recommended the
creation of a committee on health among the elderly in every barangay that will
empower senior citizens to take care of their fellow elderly and bring their
needs effectively to the city government.

Following the success of
the summit, a general assembly of all the senior citizens in the city will soon
be held in order to reach and engage all elderly in the city. (Verdelle De Vera/CIO)